Thursday, November 29, 2012

WaPo: 'Palestinian' rocket fire like... bee stings?

This is what the Washington Post's ombudsman, Patrick Pexton, thinks a bee sting looks like.

I think we can all agree that the Gaza rocket fire is reprehensible
and is aimed at terrorizing Israeli civilians. It’s disruptive and
traumatic. But let’s be clear: The overwhelming majority of rockets
fired from Gaza are like bee stings on the Israeli bear’s behind.

These rockets are unguided and erratic, and they carry very small
explosive payloads; they generally fall in open areas, causing little
damage and fewer injuries.

And therefore? Israelis in the affected zones can just ignore them? Not so, writes Alana Goodman.

“Bee stings on a bear’s behind”? Maybe Pexton can explain that to the
children of Sderot, many of whom suffer traumatic stress disorders
after being dragged out of bed night after night by the sound of air
raid sirens. Or to the families of the Israelis killed by what Pexton
refers to as “unguided and erratic” Hamas rocket attacks last week. Or
to over a million Israelis forced to put their lives on hold to hide in
bomb shelters, because, as effective as Iron Dome is, it can’t block
every missile — and it just takes one.

The truth is, Hamas’s rockets don’t cause as many casualties as they
otherwise would because Israel goes to great lengths to protect its
people. It spends fortunes on bomb shelters and missile defense systems.
In contrast, Israel’s military responses cause more Palestinian
casualties than they otherwise would because Hamas goes to great lengths
to endanger its people. It shoots missiles out of hospitals and
schools, uses children as human shields, and tells Gaza civilians to ignore Israeli warning pamphlets that advise them to leave targeted neighborhoods.

Washington Post stories that give prominent coverage to
Palestinian casualties and downplay Israeli ones — and columns like
Pexton’s that compare Hamas missiles to bee stings and Israel to a bear —
play into Hamas’s strategy of endangering its own people, and ensure
that it will continue in the future.

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About Me

I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-three years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 10 to 31 years and seven grandchildren. Our eldest daughter and eldest son are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com